Professional Eater, Storyteller, and Wine Traveler
Tomales Point above the Pacific
Point Reyes Images is a series of shots from my recent exploration of one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Pacific coast of California. The allure of Point Reyes comes from its isolation, gorgeous waters, access to roadside oysters, and surprising to me, its wildlife. [Read more...]
The stark beauty of a bare oak
Palo Alto Trees is a selection of images from my recent hike up to The Dish in Palo Alto, California. Although I have lived here for nearly six months this was my first walk up to the iconic dish overlooking Stanford University. In this first image I love the curvature of the background suggesting this is a particularly special tree rising alone on the top of the world. [Read more...]
Sea Explosion
Big Sur Sea Explosion is the first image in my series of shots from a long weekend of exploration along the Pacific Coast from Monterey down to Big Sur. This wave caught along the drive through Point Lobos was over 15 feet in height when it crashed against this rock. The spray from the wave actually misted down upon me and the camera some 50+ feet from the image. [Read more...]
Learn How to Create These Images
Hey San Francisco, I am hosting an iPhone and Creative Imaging Workshop April 13 and 14, 2013 in your city. My drear readers and followers of Bliss I would love to meet some of you face to face at this wonderful iPhone photography course taught by uber-talent Sam Krisch.
Follow this link for all the details. If you have wondered where I have been for about a week I have been planning and developing this amazing program. [Read more...]
Buena Vista Park
San Francisco Solitary Trees
On consecutive walks in the city
I came upon separate solitary trees sharing their light and oxygen with me.
I found reflections of self in these lonesome trees
and knew no way to take them in my car or even across the street
So I shot them, not with cannon or laser but handy little phone
Edited them quickly and now they are never alone. [Read more...]
Maritime Dream
San Francisco Lands End is my short photo essay on one of the city by the bay’s greatest natural assets. The image above is my favorite shot of 2013 thus far and it reminds me of the stark beauty surrounding this city on all sides. Land’s End is part of the Golden Gate National Park Conservancy and after years of work is now one of the most pristine parks I have seen in the US. I say that because I actually preferred the place when it was bit more ramshackle and difficult to maneuver. Now, there are buses, tourists, and a gift shop? [Read more...]
Stage 4 of the Process
Post-Process Evolution is a short photo essay documenting the process by which I transform an image into my creative vision. The first image above is Stage 4 of the process and I displayed it here first because few people would have opened the post had I used the Stage 1 image as my lead photo 
In essence, I am offering a little insight into the magic I use to mess up my images. Feel free to experiment messing up your images and there is a world of discovery good, bad, funky, and unique waiting for you. (Messing up images I borrowed directly from the teachings of Sam Krisch) [Read more...]
Sutro Tower – Sf
San Francisco Friday Photos Camera+ are images I took using the Camera+ app on my iPhone. I captured today’s images on walks in Buena Vista Park and the Dogpatch neighborhood. The image above is the famous Sutro Tower atop Twin Peaks at Sunset. I was inspired by the David Lynch series Twin Peaks to process this image. (Camera+ – Snapseed – Photo Toaster) [Read more...]
Landscape Near The Entrance
Death Valley Theatrical Images is my photo paean to the wonderful work of Sam Krisch. Sam recently posted some images of Death Valley that reminded me of just how stark and wondrous the place is and that I should go back to my photos and see where the muse may lead me in editing them. Death Valley was our point of entry to California in September and it greeted us with 109 degree temps on what the park rangers considered a cooler day. The detail of these images is best at full-screen so feel free to click each to see them. [Read more...]
Abandoned Warehouse Through A Broken Barrier
San Francisco Dogpatch - A Hipstamatic Tour is a portrait of a neighborhood right along the bay and down from Potrero Hill. The name is theorized to have been derived from either the proliferation of Dog Fennel that once dominated the area (and still grows in pockets) or packs of wild dogs that used to wait outside the slaughterhouses for scraps. Until recently I had spent little time in this hood say for the occasional Muni ride to a baseball game back in 2005. Now I have a good friend who calls the place home. Dogpatch is a “cool” place to be now with flashy new lofts, great restaurants, and many artisan shops. The beauty here lies in the abandoned warehouses along the water which still dominate the acreage of the area and are some of the most starkly beautiful places I have ever seen. [Read more...]
